


Journey

by ShayneyL



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Divorce, Gen, Gratuitous kitteh, Post-Endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 02:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20107636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShayneyL/pseuds/ShayneyL
Summary: An old friend shows up on Harry's doorstep.





	Journey

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's Month 2019, Day 4. The prompt is "road trip."

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Harry jerked out of a sound sleep, and was standing up, reaching for his uniform before he was fully awake.

Then he realized where he was. He wasn't on a starship. This wasn't a red alert. He was in his parents' house, on leave, and that was the doorbell. 

He looked at the chronometer. It was 10 a.m. local time. Whoever was at the door was probably looking for his parents. Who were at work at this hour. He almost collapsed back into bed, then reconsidered. What if it was someone who needed help? He pulled on his robe and went to see who was calling, smoothing down his hair as best he could.

His parents' large orange cat was prowling in the foyer, curious about their visitor. Harry picked up the creature so it wouldn't escape, then opened the door, preparing to explain that his parents were out. To find himself looking at his old friend from _Voyager_, Tom Paris. 

"Hi, Harry."

"Tom! Come in!" He ushered Tom inside, closed the door, and put the cat down so he could hug his friend. The cat immediately began twining around Tom's legs, liberally applying cat hair. "Tigger, stop that," Harry said. The cat ignored him. 

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I was going to get up anyway," Harry lied. His ship had gotten back to Earth only a few days ago, and he was not adjusted to the time zone. "Sit down, Tom. It's great to see you. How's the family?"

"Fine, fine." Tom settled on Harry's parents' couch. He looked slightly...disheveled? Stressed? Not quite the happy go lucky man he'd been when Harry last saw him. It had been awhile. Tom had been separated from Starfleet, along with all the Maquis, while Harry had been assigned to _Voyager_ again, First Officer under the command of Captain Tuvok. Last he'd heard, Tom and B'Elanna had settled in San Francisco. 

"_Tig_," Harry said, seeing the cat was about to jump into Tom's lap. He used the same tone he used with unruly Starfleet ensigns, and this time the cat listened to him, stopping. 

"It's okay," Tom said. He patted his lap, and the cat jumped up, kneading and meowing.

"He'll get cat hair all over you," Harry warned. "He's the hairiest cat in Washtenaw County."

"I'm a parent. I'm used to mess." The cat settled on Tom's lap, purring as Tom stroked him. "What did you say his name was?"

"Tigger. From a children's book. Mom is an elementary school teacher."

"Ah. So...were you named after Harry Potter?"

"No, actually. Harry the cat, from _The Cricket in Times Square_." Tom gaped, surprised. "Mom likes cats," Harry said, defensive.

"You're lucky she didn't name you 'Socks.'"

"She almost did. Short for 'Socrates.' Dad talked her out of it."

"How come you never told me this stuff on _Voyager_?"

_Because we were sometimes bored in the Delta Quadrant, but not _that_ bored_. He sensed Tom wanted to tell him something, and was working his way up to it with small talk. "Just never came up, I guess," Harry said. He was content to let Tom get around to whatever it was at his own pace. "Hey, have you had breakfast? I could replicate something, or we could go out."

Tom insisted on cooking breakfast for them. Harry remembered that Tom liked cooking, and was a fair cook when Neelix let him use the galley. Not that that happened often. Tom tended to make a mess. Still, the food was delicious - worth the chaos in the kitchen, Harry decided. He just had to get it cleaned up before his parents got home, or they'd have a fit.

And speaking of his parents having a fit... "Tom, don't feed Tigger bacon."

Tom looked up, that familiar guilty look on his face. "But he likes it."

Harry rolled his eyes, and let it go. He sopped up the remains of the syrup on his plate with the last bite of pancake. "So, why didn't B'Elanna and Miral come with you? Is Miral in school already?"

Tom drank a long swig of coffee, then stared at his empty cup. Harry was about to go get him more, when he said, "B'Elanna and I are divorcing."

Harry sat back down with a thud. "Oh, Tom. I'm sorry to hear that." He wondered how B'Elanna was taking it. She had been so afraid of losing Tom... 

"Probably for the best," Tom said. "We're trying to keep it amicable." 

"Do you need some place to stay?" Harry asked. His parents would welcome Tom with open arms, he was sure. "We have plenty of room."

"Actually...I was going to invite you to come with me."

"Where?" 

"A road trip," Tom said. 

Harry was a bit bored sitting around his parents' house, but he didn't think they'd be too enthused if he left again so quickly. Not after losing him for seven years to the Delta Quadrant. "I'm not sure my mom..."

"Just across the United States, not across the galaxy," Tom said. "I'm a father, remember? I'll be talking to my daughter every night. You can talk to your mom."

"Every night? But it only takes a few minutes to cross the United States."

"A _road_ trip, Harry. A real one. I've fixed up a 1969 Chevy Camaro. I want to drive across on the country on the old Route 66."

"Drive? In a car?"

"Yeah," Tom said. His eyes sparkled with excitement. This was Tom with a new obsession, something Harry had become very familiar with during their time on _Voyager_. "Not just a car, a convertible. The sun on your face, the wind in your hair. Don't worry, she looks like an antique, but she's renovated to modern emissions controls and safety standards."

"Is that road even traversable these days?" Most of the ancient highway system had been torn up, or long fallen into ruin.

"Oh, yes," Tom said. "Believe it or not, this is a popular hobby. Route 66 is driveable. There's gas stations, motels, scenic lookouts, vintage tourist attractions..."

"How long is this going to take?"

"About a month, if we don't rush," Tom said. "And there's transporters along the route. If you want to spend a night back home now and then, you can do that. I'll probably take a day here and there for my visitation with Miral."

Harry couldn't help smiling. The Tom he'd first met, so long ago, would have taken off without worrying about calling home. This Tom, despite appearances, had grown up. A little, anyway.

"Come on," Tom coaxed. "It'll be fun."

Harry thought about it...for all of a nanosecond. "Sure," he said. As he had so many times before, back in the Delta Quadrant.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a comment at Tumblr in support of more "&" relationships: Platonic friendships where they're there for each other, through the years, and through the rise and demise of many a romantic relationship.


End file.
